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Mom Credits Prozac with Saving Child's Life

As the Food and Drug Administration concludes hearings on the use of antidepressants in children and teens, much of the debate focuses on the safety of such drugs, called SSRIs. Some parents blame the drugs for inciting suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts in their children.

But in the second of two reports, NPR's Joanne Silberner presents another perspective on the controversy. Sherri Walton says her 15-year-old daughter, Jordan, suffered from depression and experienced suicidal thoughts until Prozac turned things around.

Both mother and daughter credit the drug with turning Jordan's life around. Jordan even accompanied her mother to Washington, D.C., to testify at a previous FDA hearing on the use of antidepressants by children and teens.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Joanne Silberner is a health policy correspondent for National Public Radio. She covers medicine, health reform, and changes in the health care marketplace.